Students tell Bush to stop torture
Tuesday 26 June @ 14:01:54
Fifty high school seniors in the Presidential Scholars program presented President Bush with a letter on Monday calling for an end to “violations of the human rights” of terrorism suspects held by the United States.
According to Associated Press and Washington Post reports, Bush read the handwritten letter and spoke briefly to the young woman who handed it to him. The students had been invited to Washington, D.C., to hear the president speak about his effort to reauthorize “No Child Left Behind.”
The letter said the students “believe we have a responsibility to voice our convictions.”
“We do not want America to represent torture. We urge you to do all in your power to stop violations of the human rights of detainees, to cease illegal renditions, and to apply the Geneva Convention to all detainees, including those designated enemy combatants,” the letter said.
White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said the president was not expecting the students letter but read it and then told the students that that United States does not torture and that the country values human rights. Meanwhile protests are taking place today across the country to mark the UN’s International Day to Remember the Victims of Torture. In Washington the American Civil Liberties Union is organizing a Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice.
